Koma Janiform Funerary Figure

Faces front and back, a beaded collar and legs spreading out like tree roots.

This janiform funerary figure is Koma, from northern Ghana, West Africa, and dates to the 13th – 17th century. It is terra cotta. The Koma terracottas, found in burial mounds of the region, are among the best-known archaeological finds in West Africa, and their purpose is still debated by researchers. Here the figure has a head with faces on both sides, round eyes and an open mouth, set on a long neck with a twisted collar. The body widens into four splayed, clawed legs. The surface is sandy gray-brown. It is 6 inches wide and 10.5 high.

Watching in two directions at once, as a good sentinel should.